Google was first a search engine, then a verb and then (in the US) finally a phone number to call to reference everything from movies times to addresses. Shanghai, unfortunately wasn’t so lucky. To help foreigners navigate the jungle that is Shanghai and the Chinese addresses associated with it, Shanghai has the Shanghai Call Center. The Shanghai Call Center fills a number of voids for non-Shanghainese, those with residents and without permits, in the “The Paris of the East.�?
When you dial 962288 from any phone, you can get (free) help for everything from booking tickets to major events in Shanghai, to directions and basic translation (take that Google!).Once you’ve gotten the information you need, if you provide them with your phone number, the call center can text the information – in Chinese or English – to your phone. To add to the value of this service, Shanghai Call Center can save your name and phone number so that they can give you better service the next time you call – since one you try it, you’ll be hooked.